Emmanuel Macron’s state visit to Morocco this week is the culmination of diplomatic efforts in recent months to give new impetus to cooperation between Paris and Rabat, after several years of crisis and tensions. Since the arrival of President Macron to the Elysée in 2017, relations between France and the Arab country had cooled, largely because the French head of state preferred to focus his diplomatic efforts in North Africa on strengthening ties with neighboring Algeria. , Rabat’s rival.
The revelation in 2021 that Moroccan secret services had used Israeli Pegasus software to spy on Macron on his personal phone added an element of tension and marked the worst period in the relationship between the two governments. To the point that in September 2023, Morocco ignored the offer of French aid in the days after the earthquake that shook several areas of the country, especially the High Atlas region, leaving thousands of dead. Despite the difficulties and criticism, Mohamed VI only accepted active humanitarian aid from four countries: Spain, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
A very different image from the one that has been seen these days in Rabat. French and Moroccan flags fly on Mohamed V avenue in the capital, as well as at every roundabout, at the main gate of the Rabat-Salé airport, around the city’s Grand Theater and around the Mohamed VI tower. Leaning on a cane, at the foot of the steps of the French president’s official plane, the monarch received Macron for the first time since 2018 – the year of his last state visit to the North African country.
The visit is the result of months of work by French diplomacy to prepare the ground for a reconciliation with Rabat, after a change in strategy after having verified that the rapprochement with Algiers did not bear the desired results. The central element for the change of tone in Franco-Moroccan relations was Macron’s public support for the Moroccan plan for Western Sahara, made official by the French president in a letter addressed to Mohamed VI in July, in which he stated that it is “ the only basis” to resolve the conflict between Morocco and the Polisario Front.
Western Sahara and migration
“With Mohamed VI we have decided to write a new book together,” said Macron before a euphoric Parliament. “The present and future of Western Sahara are part of the framework of Moroccan sovereignty,” added the French president during his appearance. A speech with nods to the country’s colonial past, which also implies a commitment to defending the French and Moroccan thesis in international organizations, such as the United Nations Security Council – in which France has veto power. A week earlier, on the same stage, the king had expressed his “deepest gratitude to France and President Emmanuel Macron for this open support for the Moroccan identity of the Sahara.”
“This position is not hostile to anyone,” the French head of state wanted to assure in response to criticism from Algeria, the main international support of the Polisario Front, which withdrew its ambassador in Paris in July after Macron’s letter to Mohamed VI. “And I say it here, again, very strongly: our operators and our companies will support the development of these territories through investments, sustainable initiatives and solidarity for the benefit of local populations,” Macron stated.
In Parliament, the French president addressed another of the main disputes that had confronted both countries in recent years: the issue of visas. France had reduced the number of travel permits for Moroccan citizens – as it also did with other Maghreb countries – to punish the authorities, whom it accuses of not processing the reception of Moroccan citizens expelled from French territory quickly enough. A measure highly criticized by different humanitarian organizations, which according to the French NGO Cimade “is nothing more than an unjust collective punishment, directed indiscriminately against all Algerians, Moroccans and Tunisians.” Although the previous French Executive had canceled this measure, the new Minister of the Interior claims to want to reactivate it.
In his speech on Tuesday, Emmanuel Macron welcomed an “exceptional and reinforced partnership” agreed with King Mohammed VI, which will focus on the fight against “illegal immigration and the need for natural and fluid cooperation in consular matters.”
On the same day, Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau and his Moroccan counterpart Abdelouafi Laftit signed an agreement to work on a roadmap to improve the identification of Moroccan nationals residing illegally in France. Likewise, the objective is to “shorten the deadlines” for the “readmission of Moroccan nationals in an irregular situation” in France to “improve in terms of number of people readmitted“, as the Frenchman explained.
On the other hand, Macron invited King Mohammed VI to sign a new bilateral “strategic framework” in 2025 in Paris that also serves to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the previous founding document in relations between both countries, the La Celle-Saint-Declaration. Cloud of 1955, which sealed the independence of Morocco. This new agreement could be signed on the occasion of a “state visit to France that His Majesty [Mohammed VI] has already accepted,” the Elysée said in a statement.
Important economic background
Apart from the grandiose statements, France and Morocco have signed 22 commercial and financial agreements worth 10 billion euros, according to the Elysée. Among them, the contract with the French company Alstom to build the second section of the high-speed train that connects Tangier with Casablanca and that will reach Marrakech stands out. The 1.8 billion euro contract has been awarded to Alstom, compared to other companies, including the Spanish Talgo and Caf.
The large group of company executives accompanying Macron included those from Alstom, Engie, Safran, TotalEnergies, CMA CGM, Suez, Veolia and Thales Alenia Space; in addition to the main ministers of the Government and figures from the world of culture.
For example, Engie signed with the Moroccan state company OCP (world leader in phosphates) an agreement of 3.5 billion euros for renewable energies, another of the sectors highlighted in the agreements between France and Morocco, as well as water desalination and agriculture. . In addition, the France-based company Airbus could sign this week the sale of 188 new aircraft to Air Maroc and at least two defense contracts are being discussed: one with Airbus, for the sale of between 15 and 18 Caracal H225M transport helicopters , and another with Naval Group for the construction of two submarines.
During the visit, a Franco-Moroccan business meeting took place at the International University of Rabat that revolved around co-industrialization and “Made in Morroco”. In addition to different personalities and businessmen, the Moroccan Minister of Economy and Finance, Nadie Fettah Alaoui, also participated in the session, along with her French counterpart, Antoine Armand.
Another milestone of the visit was the inauguration of the Grand Theater of Rabat by the French first lady, Brigitte Macron, and the older sister of King Mohamed VI, Lalla Hasna. The building, completed three years ago, remained closed to the public: it was designed by the renowned architect Zaha Hadid with a budget of 200 million euros and the French Minister of Culture, Rachida Dati, and the director of the UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay.
The visit also featured a young and unexpected protagonist: Princess Lalla Khadija, 17 years old and daughter of Mohamed VI, has reappeared at an official event after five years. The last time he participated in Royal Family events was in 2019. His presence at the foot of the runway during Macron’s reception at the Rabat-Salé airport surprised the Moroccan population and media.
On his last day in Rabat, before returning to France, the French president participated in a forum on food security and had a meeting with the French community, the EFE Agency reported.
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